July 12, 2019

observations 7/12

Well, this takes the cake.

Today is the due date for Plaintiff Waterbury's counsel's replies to the defendants' motions to dismiss. So far only a response to Jared Longhitano's motion has been filed. The plaintiff's response is the Trump classic "facts don't matter" when it comes to motions to dismiss. AND he attached a long, gossipy affidavit from Winston Nguyen about NYCB's culture. Nguyen is the scumbag who was sentenced to Rikers Island for stealing $335,000 from a blind elderly man and his wife while he was their home health aid. He used the money for trips, meals, and ballet tickets according to the prosecutor.

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This is getting even more absurd. Correct me if I'm wrong here. Her attorney is essentially saying that Longhitano's social media posts are the word of God and supersedes everything else. This is what I'm getting from the filing. He completely ignored the fact that's it's been PROVEN Waterbury was NOT a student at the time of these alleged events. I would think that alone right there causes dismissal of EVERYTHING because she is seeking protection as a student, but in fact, she was NOT a student. Furthermore, how much weight does an affidavit from a CONVICTED FELON hold? I really hope for Longhitano's sake that the court doesn't interpret this whole "board" thing as something major. I used to be a member of the NYCB Young Patrons and the group is a far cry from an actual "board". As with any other young patrons group it's a fundraising group. That's really the whole agenda and purpose. There's no power attained by anyone and there's absolutely no control or oversight of dancers as employees as Merson contends. He's really overstepping bounds here and I'm curious when the ethics will come into play.

"As the NYCB staff tasked with staging ballets, running rehearsals and casting the ballets, the Ballet Masters at NYCB knew the details of any personal issues or interpersonal difficulties between and among the principals, so as not to partner them when casting ballets." Uhhh... Are you kidding me??! My bosses could NOT care less about my "personal issues" and expect me to work with ANYONE they assign me with. Is a ballet company any different?

And of course, Finlay wasn't Lovette's first rodeo at NYCB. At times it looked like she was dating her way to attention and to her eventual appointment to principal. The defense will have plenty of "these are not innocent little girls" material to offer up when the time comes. And as the women continue to sell themselves as meat on social media it will become more and more difficult for them to cry victim of a culture.

Now reading the plaintiff's opposition to the other motions to dismiss, it seems that Merson has gone off the rails and is throwing in any and all unsubstantiated rumors, gossip, and false statements that he can imagine. He's the mouthpiece for Alexandra Waterbury who claims such things as "Mr. Ramasar was Mr. Finlay's superior at NYCB and demanded" Finlay send him the images. And it seems like Merson is trying to prove his own client is a liar by claiming that Nguyen's gossipy affidavit offsets any claim that Waterbury first met Finlay AFTER she had left SAB as she stated in her splashy magazine article.

Even though Merson has gone off the rails, it isn't likely that the defendants' counsels will follow him.

Haglund, as you said, this is getting even more ridiculous. I'm almost at a loss for words. Merson is not only using a convicted felon as a "witness", but he is now referencing ballet blogs and forums as evidence? This is absurdity. So here's a little background on Winston....He was banned from the ballet buildings because he was entering as if he was a dancer; In particular, the girl's dressing rooms. He was buying all the ballerinas gifts such as iphones, ipads, and plane tickets, and lastly, and I admit this is just a rumor so I can't verify it's fact....he used to tell girls they could sleep over his apartment and I heard one time one of the ballerinas woke up with his hands down her pants. As I said, it's just what I heard. I genuinely feel bad for these guys because let's face it, they didn't do anything outside of the ordinary that any other guy has done no matter how reprehensible one thinks their behavior is. I'm not saying I agree with it, or think it's fine, but it's not anything crazy. And, Haglund, you are absolutely correct above in that these ballerinas are NOT innocent. I know firsthand of many instances where these NYCB ballerinas were acting precisely like the derogatory words in the text messages. Doing cocaine in the bathroom of bars (one female principal in particular is like a vacuum cleaner), to having sex in bar bathrooms, to participating in gangbangs and orgies. All of this stuff will surely come up if this goes to an actual trial and the general ballet-loving public is going to be mortified by what they read and hear.

To agree with you again, Merson has gone completely off the rails as you said. It almost seems like he knows this is a lost cause and he's throwing as much s*it against the wall in hopes that something sticks. Hopefully the judge doesn't get frustrated by all the paperwork and decide to kick it to a jury because he doesn't want to deal with it. It would be very unfair to the defendants because this really should all be dismissed in its entirety.

Hopefully all the hyperbole will be dealt with in the ruling on the motions. But it shouldn't be surprising that her attorney is going to extensive lengths to make her case. Also, his knowledge of the ballet world is probably limited to what she tells him. I do disagree with one point being made here - that the word of a convicted felon should never be taken. This convicted felon's case had nothing to do with NYCB. Why does that make him a liar? He may well be, based on all the other stuff he has allegedly done. But there are countless people who have been rightly accused of felonies who have never been convicted - does that mean their word is OK? This smacks of TV lawyering. If you want to attack this guy because he's a sleazebag, fine. But a single conviction doesn't mean someone's not telling the truth.

Not to mention Winston used his stolen money to buy NYCB ballet tickets & gifts/trips for the NYCB dancers. In a way, his crime is involved with this whole debacle. He used stolen money to buy gala tickets for himself and Alex Waterbury...

Yeah, and he was Waterbury's guest at the gala where she met Finlay AFTER she was a student. She quit SAB to go model in Thailand. In the legal filings Merson claims Waterbury met Finlay because she was a student at SAB. Let me be clear here; SAB students are NOT invited the NYCB Galas and they are most definitely NOT invited to NYCB YPC events because those events are for 21 & over due to alcohol. So, in effect, Waterbury met Finlay BECAUSE of the introduction by Winston. This is all fact and not alleged theory.